Asylum
by Vol lady
Summary: Jarrod's client is a patient of an insane asylum and accused of killing one of the attendants. His family is concerned that he is spending day after day among the insane, especially Victoria - it is the same asylum where she was once imprisoned by a corrupt judge.
1. Chapter 1

Jarrod's client is a patient of an insane asylum and accused of killing one of the attendants. His family is concerned that he is spending day after day among the insane, especially Victoria - it is the same asylum where she was once imprisoned by a corrupt judge.

Asylum

Chapter 1

For the third day in a row, Jarrod walked into the large blocky building and signed in with the guard just inside the door. By now the man knew him and where he was going. By now Jarrod knew his way to the secure lockup where his client was housed. By now he was almost getting used to the groans, the cries, even the occasional shrieks he would be hearing all day from various parts of the building. By now this was getting to be entirely routine. He hated that.

The guard at the entrance to the maximum security area knew him too well, too. The pat down he was getting each day was getting more and more cursory. Today it was barely a pat down at all, just a quick brush for weapons the guard knew weren't there. The guard let him in through the cell black door and closed Jarrod in there with the only inmate in the place.

Leo Stuart was a young man, just turned 25. He had little hair, since they kept hair short around here, and very, very pale skin, almost translucent. Jarrod wondered if the boy had ever in his life seen the sun. Today, just like each of the previous two days, Stuart sat unmoving on the bed, pushing himself as deeply into the corner of the cell as he could. For the third day in a row, he stared icily at his lawyer, as if he were trying to bore a hole through him. For the third day in a row, Jarrod sat down in the chair that was kept several feet away from the cell Stuart occupied so that Stuart couldn't get at him.

"Good morning, Leo," Jarrod said, and for the third day in a row, Stuart said nothing. He only stared.

Jarrod just stared back, even though it was an unnerving exercise. Trying to question his client had been fruitless and late on the previous afternoon Jarrod decided he was just going to stare back at Stuart and let him begin the talking, although he wasn't remotely sure Stuart would ever do that. The superintendent of the facility had assured him that Stuart did talk in general. He just hadn't spoken since the murder. And today he didn't show any signs that he would begin to talk either.

Jarrod had put all his other cases on hold, at least for a few more days, while he spent hours right here with Stuart. So, for now, they just stared at each other, Jarrod wondering what, if anything, was going on in that head on the other side of the bars. He heard the sound of someone beginning to scream in another part of the building and tried to avoid reacting to it. He wanted Stuart to understand that he was going to stay right here, undistracted, until Stuart decided to talk to him. If this tactic didn't work, he wasn't sure what he was going to try next, so for now he just sat and stared.

It was the third day of his vigil with Leo Stuart, the third day of waiting, the third day of what was beginning to feel like his own incarceration in the Insane Asylum of the State of California at Stockton.

XXXXXX

The day was going as silently as ever when the chief physician came in, just before Jarrod was planning to go out to get something to eat. The physician was a well-meaning man who simply came to check on his patient, but he was beginning to get on Jarrod's nerves. He just wasn't very helpful. Today, he just stood beside Jarrod for a long few minutes, staring at Stuart whose gaze never shifted from Jarrod's.

"You know this is a battle you can't win, don't you, Mr. Barkley?" the doctor finally asked.

Jarrod didn't say anything, reluctant to break the electricity he was beginning to feel between himself and his client.

The doctor said, "You're expecting him to act like a rational man, and he is in no way rational."

Jarrod still did not intend to speak. The doctor left with a shrug and without examining Stuart.

XXXXX

"He's right," Nick said that evening when they gathered for drinks and asked Jarrod how his day went. Jarrod really didn't want to but he told the family about his day and what the physician had said. "The man isn't rational," Nick said, "to just keep staring at you all day."

"Talking to him didn't help," Jarrod said. "I'm just trying something else."

Jarrod exchanged looks with his mother. He knew she didn't want to be discussing the asylum. She had been thrown in there herself by a corrupt judge, Judge Tyrone, trying to keep her from testifying she had seen the judge's son Buddy commit a murder. She was none too happy when Jarrod told her he was taking this case and would have to spend time in the asylum interviewing his client. As his time turned into entire days, she was even unhappier, but she was never one to intervene in her sons' business, especially Jarrod's legal business.

Jarrod really didn't want this subject to come up now, but he didn't understand the depth of his family's concern. Just like their mother, Nick was distinctly unhappy about it, not only because of what had happened to his mother, but also because of something he was trying to keep to himself - the fact that he was still bothered by what happened to his older brother when his wife was murdered. Jarrod had gone off the rails himself. Nick had ended up at the wrong end of Jarrod's gun, facing insane blue eyes that didn't seem to know him. Nick knew it was only by the grace of a sheriff in Rimfire that Jarrod was not legitimately locked up somewhere or even dead. He didn't like his older brother being so close to the edge again, but something told him not to say it out loud. Not yet.

But at the same time, Nick wasn't ready to forget about Jarrod's decision to take this case, either. "You know this Stuart fellow did kill that attendant."

"I don't know any such thing," Jarrod said. "I wasn't there."

"But there were witnesses," Audra said. "Other attendants saw him do it."

"Until I hear my client's version of events, I can't judge their veracity," Jarrod said.

"What are you going to do if he still won't talk to you?" Heath asked.

Jarrod shrugged. "Try something else."

Nick heaved a sigh. "How long are you gonna keep trying something else, Jarrod? You've got other things to do, you know. I got things piling up for you too."

"Give me a few more days, Nick," Jarrod said. "I know I can't wait forever for him to talk, but I can't give up and send the boy to the gallows without putting up some sort of defense."

"Seems to me you have one," Nick said. "The kid's insane. Say he's incompetent to stand trial and be done with it."

"If he killed an attendant, they're not gonna keep him there," Jarrod said. "Let me just think about this a while longer. If I can't come up with some way to defend him in the next few days, I'll plead him incompetent but what in the world they'll be able to do with him is beyond me. I haven't been able to find any cases of an inmate in an insane asylum killing an attendant. I don't have any precedent to ask the court to follow."

"And why should a man who's incapable of understanding what he's done hang for it just because they don't know what to do with him?" Audra completed Jarrod's line of thinking.

Jarrod nodded. "Where's the justice in that?"

"Maybe there isn't any justice for this, Jarrod," Heath said.

"I've thought of that, too," Jarrod said. "But just because we haven't developed justice for a case like this doesn't mean we should stop looking for it. It's there. If I can, I'm going to find it."

"If it's there, what would it look like?" Audra asked. "I mean, how should we treat a man who's this dangerous but doesn't know any different?"

Jarrod smiled, pleased that his sister was thinking that far ahead.

But before he could answer her, Nick said, "How do you know he doesn't know any different? How do you know this isn't just an act?"

"It's no act," Jarrod said. "Sit with the man for a while, and you know it's no act. We sat all day just staring at one another. How long can a sane man keep doing that?"

Nick and Heath looked at each other before Heath finally said, "You're doing it, and I think you're still sane."

"And I just hope you stay that way," Nick added.

Jarrod exchanged looks with his mother again, indicating to her he was sensitive to her personal history with this place and to her concerns about him being involved with it. He could tell her heart was not in this conversation at all. He knew it was past time they give the subject up for tonight. He finished the scotch he was drinking and set the empty glass down on the coffee table in front of him. "Fear not, Brother Nick. I'm not about to lose my senses. Now, my darling little sister, how did your day at the orphanage go?"

XXXXX

Nick let the conversation drift away from the insane asylum, but he was bothered for the rest of the evening about what Jarrod was doing representing a man in there. Jarrod had no business being that close to genuine madness, not since Beth, not since Rimfire. As he lay in bed and tried to fall asleep, Nick worried. He worried just being in that asylum could push his older brother back toward the edge he nearly fell over before.

But Nick knew Jarrod wouldn't give up on his client easily, even if it was harming him. That wasn't Jarrod's way, not when someone needed him. Nick knew all he could do was keep an eye on his older brother and do what he did in the street in Rimfire - put himself in harm's way if he had to, to get Jarrod grounded again, to keep him from completely losing himself. Nick had done it before. He knew he could do it again. All he had to do was keep his eyes open, watch for the danger, and put himself between his brother and the danger if that's what it took to keep Jarrod stable. And he knew he would do it again, whatever it took.

He just prayed he wouldn't have to.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

On the fourth day, Jarrod and Stuart resumed staring at each other, but at midday, Jarrod left to get some food. When he came back, he decided to try something else. He sat with his face toward Stuart but with his eyes closed, never once opening them, never once speaking, just sitting there. It was a little tough to stay awake, but Jarrod concentrated on not nodding off. He didn't know how long he had been that way before Stuart finally spoke.

"What are you doing?" Stuart asked, his voice close but his speech somewhat slurred.

It happened so suddenly Jarrod almost jumped, but he kept still, kept his eyes closed, and said calmly, "Waiting for you to tell me what happened when you killed the attendant."

"I didn't kill anybody," Stuart said.

"Two other attendants said you did," Jarrod said.

"They lie," Stuart said.

Jarrod didn't want to open his eyes for fear Stuart would stop talking again. "So tell me what happened," Jarrod said.

Stuart's voice came a little closer, and Jarrod figured he was out of his corner and up against the bars. "Why should I tell you?"

"I'm your lawyer. I'm here to help you tell your side of the story and maybe keep you from hanging."

Stuart's voice turned strained. "Why do they want to hang me? I didn't do nothing to hang for."

"The other two attendants say you did. Tell me what really happened."

Stuart turned quiet again and the spoke softly when he said, "Those other two. They killed Ambrose."

Well, he got the dead attendant's name right. That made Jarrod believe he was not completely out of his mind. Jarrod had already interviewed the two attendants who claimed they saw Stuart kill Ambrose, and their stories were pretty credible, but he decided to go along with Stuart as if he believed his client's story. "How did they kill him?"

"Strangled him. One strangled him with his hands. The other one held me back."

"Which one did the strangling?"

Stuart didn't answer.

Jarrod waited almost a minute before asking, "Leo, which one did the strangling?"

Stuart still did not answer.

Jarrod had to open his eyes. Stuart had retreated to his corner again, and he was staring blankly at Jarrod. He had shut down again. Jarrod sighed inwardly, but didn't show any frustration. He just shut his eyes again, and for the rest of the day, until he left at about five o'clock, he just waited for Stuart to start talking again. He never did.

XXXXXXXX

Stuart was still in that corner when Jarrod arrived the next morning, and Jarrod planned to just sit with his eyes closed to see if that would draw the man out again. But something else happened. As soon as Jarrod went to sit down in his regular chair, Stuart suddenly jumped up off the cot and charged the bars. Startled, Jarrod jumped back and stumbled into the chair, falling down into it. Stuart was growling like an animal, drooling, spitting, eyes flaming. Then he began to laugh hysterically.

Jarrod considered calling the guard, but then he decided to stay still, just sitting there and staring at Stuart in case he calmed down just as suddenly as he went wild. But the man began to babble in unintelligible words, every now and then screaming out an obscenity. The guard finally came in, took Jarrod by the shoulders and forced him to leave, saying, "He gets like this. There's no settling him down. It just has to pass on its own, but having anybody around just makes it worse."

Jarrod left as directed, but even closing the cell block door did not shut out Stuart's rampage. After several days of silence and a little bit of nearly sensible words from the man, this sudden chaos left Jarrod shaking. It also left him wondering if he could ever get anything out of the man that would help him with his defense. How could he help a man who was so completely wild?

"You all right?" the guard asked.

"Yeah," Jarrod said, but visibly unnerved.

"Best you get out of here," the guard said. "You're never gonna get anything out of this guy."

Jarrod wasn't sure what to think. He left the entire building almost in a daze, shaken by everything that had just happened but still trying to figure out how to get something helpful out of Stuart. He just wasn't ready to give up yet, but he didn't know what to try next. Confused and frustrated, he headed home.

His mother was startled to see him back so soon when he came in the door. She was doing some hand sewing in the living room when she heard the door open. When he came in, he was moving slowly, almost uncertainly. She got up. She shivered at imagining what might have happened this morning at that insane asylum.

"Jarrod? Is something wrong?"

Jarrod put his hat on the table by the door. "Just a difficult morning," he said. "Stuart was completely out of control today. I couldn't stay. I couldn't get anything out of him except rage and babbling. I don't know what I'm going to do now."

It wasn't even lunchtime and Jarrod was eyeing the refreshment table like he needed a drink, and to himself he admitted he did. But he forced himself to pass it up and sat down in his "thinking chair" instead. Victoria went back to the settee and sat down, watching him. His eyes were dark and he was obviously very bothered. "Can I help you in any way?" she asked.

Jarrod took a deep breath, and the darkness in him seemed to pass at the thought of her, with her history, being worried about him. "No. I wish there was, but I'm just at a loss. I think I'll change clothes and go help Nick and Heath dig post holes. It might help me think more clearly."

He got up and headed upstairs, looking more energetic now, but Victoria was certain he was still upset about this client of his, and because it involved that asylum, it still scared her. She wished he could just give the man over to some other lawyer, but that wasn't his way. The more difficult a problem became, the more he'd hack away at it until something broke loose.

XXXXXXX

Nick and Heath were not at all happy when they saw their older brother ride up to meet them at the place they were repairing fence. Jarrod seldom came out to help them with a chore like that, and when he did it was either because he was extremely happy about something or deeply troubled by something. They didn't see how it could be anything but trouble this early in the day when he had been planning to spend the day in the insane asylum.

"Pappy's carrying a load of something not good," Heath said.

"That damned crazy house," Nick said. "Something's gone wrong."

Jarrod pulled up and hitched his horse to the wagon Nick and Heath had come out in. Without a word, he began shedding his shirt, then he pulled his work gloves out from under his belt and put them on. Nick and Heath approached him.

"Trouble with your client?" Nick asked.

"He was having a bad day," Jarrod said. "We wouldn't get anywhere today."

Nick and Heath looked at each other, and then saw Jarrod was looking at them.

"Don't go getting all worried," Jarrod said. "He didn't try to hurt me or anything. He was just - " Jarrod struggled for some words that didn't wouldn't sound upsetting. "Not communicating," Jarrod finished.

"Uh-huh," Nick said doubtfully. "He must have been not communicating pretty hard for you to give up on him this early."

"You might say that," Jarrod said. "I came to do something productive. What do you want me to do?"

Nick pointed to the post hole digger lying on the ground near the last post they were ready to set. "Go ahead and dig the next hole."

Jarrod took a look. "Looks like they're all set to me."

"They're coming loose, need resetting," Heath said.

"Coming loose and needing resetting," Jarrod said as he started for the tool lying on the ground.

"Kinda like you," Nick said very quietly so only Heath would hear him.

"Don't go fussing over him, Nick," Heath said. "That really will drive him crazy."

"I wish he'd get the hell out of that insane asylum," Nick said.

"Yeah, I expect another day or two and he will," Heath said.

"He damned well better or I might just go and drag him out."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next day Jarrod went by his office before he went to see Stuart. He took a look at some of the mail that had come in, and he admitted to himself that he only did it to see some normalcy in front of him before he had to face the insanity again. His family had unnerved him a bit at breakfast. Not that they meant to. They just kept looking at him like they were worried, making him feel like he was turning into a freak before their eyes. It was tough to start two days in a row feeling unnerved. Reading some ordinary mail in his office made him feel settled again.

He endured the usual sounds of the asylum - crying, screaming, moaning - as he came to the secured area Stuart was in. The guard frisked him, as usual, but as he let Jarrod in he asked, "How long are you going to put up with this, Mr. Barkley?"

"As long as it takes," Jarrod said, even though he really meant as long as he could stand it. He went in through the cellblock door shaking a little, wondering what kind of shape Stuart would be in today. He got an even bigger shock than he got the day before.

Stuart was standing in the middle of his cell, looking calm, even poised. His demeanor kept Jarrod on his feet, too, but he did not go close to the bars, still fearing a sudden eruption. But Stuart spoke. "I'm sorry about the way I acted yesterday, Mr. Barkley," the man said as calmly as a minister in church.

Not knowing how to take it, Jarrod just said, "It's all right. Are you ready to talk about your situation now? Are you ready to tell me what happened the night Ambrose was killed?"

Stuart smiled a little. "You didn't say the night I killed him. Did you believe me when I said I didn't do it?"

Jarrod couldn't believe what he was hearing. The man was as calm and rational as anyone on the outside. Jarrod kept reminding himself, though - this could end at any moment and he could be spitting venom at me anytime. "I'm willing to hear more," Jarrod said. "Tell me what happened."

Stuart sat down on his cot, prompting Jarrod to sit down in his usual chair. "Ambrose was planning to give me a bath," Stuart said. "He hadn't even got me out of my clothes when Caycee and Powell came in to the bathroom, screaming bloody murder about Ambrose calling them out with the superintendent. Then they just got to fighting. Powell held me back. Caycee got Ambrose down and strangled him and then they started yelling that I killed him. More attendants came running in."

"Did you tell them you didn't do it?"

Stuart nodded. "But they didn't believe me. They locked me up in here."

Jarrod didn't know what to think now. This man was as lucid as any client he had ever seen in his office, this man who had been catatonic for days, then calm, then a screaming maniac. Jarrod decided to keep talking to him normally. "Have you seen Caycee or Powell since you've been in here?"

Stuart shook his head. "No."

Jarrod took a deep breath. "Leo, do you remember what happened when I came in here yesterday?"

Stuart nodded.

"You were uncontrollable and incoherent. Do you know what those words mean?"

Stuart smiled a little. "I was a raving maniac."

Jarrod nodded. "Something like that."

"It happens to me sometimes. I don't know why."

"Did it happen to you the night Ambrose was killed?"

Stuart shook his head, very definitely. "No. I remember that night. I was fine. Ambrose wouldn't have tried to give me a bath if I wasn't. They never do that."

That sounded sensible, and it was something Jarrod knew he could check out.

Jarrod asked more questions and Stuart answered them, but after an hour or so Stuart seemed to tire. Jarrod excused himself and left, and after getting some coffee and making notes to himself, he went to see Dr. Merar. It was the good doctor who examined Ambrose's body after the killing. Jarrod had already talked to him once but after hearing Stuart's version of the story, he wanted more information.

"Well, Jarrod," Dr. Merar said with his usual smile when Jarrod went into the office. "How are you today?"

"I'm just fine," Jarrod said, "but I have a few more questions for you about David Ambrose."

"Has your client been able to give you any more information yet?"

"Yes, he has, and that's what I want to check out with you."

Dr. Merar invited Jarrod back into the treatment room – odd place for just a discussion, Jarrod thought, but let it pass. They each sat down in a chair.

Jarrod said, "My client tells me it was the two attendants who accuse him who really did the killing."

Dr. Merar made a face. "It's not unusual for an accused to shift the blame."

"No, but Stuart was perfectly sensible when he told me that. We had an hour-long conversation and he was perfectly lucid the whole time."

"Well, THAT is a bit unusual."

"That's why I'm taking him seriously enough to check his story out. He says they fought and then one man held him back while the other one strangled Ambrose. I know you agree he was strangled, but is there any other evidence of a fight?"

"The deceased had bruises on his arms, but they appeared to be several days old, and it's not that unusual for an attendant to get grabbed by an inmate. I didn't see any evidence of bruising that was recent other than on his neck."

Jarrod frowned. "I've been trying to get Stuart to talk for days. Usually he was silent and huddled in a corner. Today he was lucid and talking. But yesterday, he completely flew apart, babbling incoherently, even trying to get at me through the bars."

"Well, I'm not a physician for the insane, Jarrod. I have seen some pretty strange things happen suddenly when a man is physically injured or under extreme emotional distress."

Jarrod went cold. "As with me when my wife died."

Dr. Merar nodded. "You do have a unique perspective on this case."

"Maybe, but didn't you tell me at the time that every man's breaking point is different, and every man's insanity is different?"

"That's very true. Your experience isn't likely to be a roadmap for your interaction with Stuart, but you at least understand how fast things can change for a man. You had some holes in your memory when you came home from Rimfire. Your client may very well have killed Ambrose but have no memory of it."

"But he has a memory of the other two attendants killing Ambrose."

"It could be a false memory, created to keep him from having to confront the reality of what he did."

Jarrod frowned again, turning a little, thinking. "What you're telling me is that my client may or may not be telling the truth."

Dr. Merar sighed. "That's right. I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

Jarrod stood up, but paused, still thinking. Finally, cautiously, he asked, "How can I get into Stuart's head without jeopardizing myself?"

Dr. Merar got up and quickly said, "You can't. Don't even try it."

Jarrod looked at him and saw dead seriousness in his eyes. "I don't know how long he's going to be sensible or when he's going to turn again. I don't know how I can be of any help to him if I can't understand him."

"If you're thinking like that, you'd better find him another lawyer."

"No one will take the job. I suppose everyone else has more sense than I do."

The doctor stepped closer. "Listen to me. Don't spend any more than a day or two more on this or on going to the asylum. You're a dedicated and compassionate lawyer, but that and the fact that you've fallen over the edge before just makes you more susceptible to doing it again. Maybe you don't remember the state you were in when your brothers brought you in to see me - "

"I remember," Jarrod said, cutting him off, "and I'm nowhere near that edge again. Believe me. I just want to give my client the best representation I can, and if he is innocent, as he says, I want to get him cleared and back into treatment. If he's guilty, I want to try to save him from hanging."

"All I'm saying is that you need to be careful. Given your history and who you are as a man and a lawyer, you need to be very careful."

Jarrod nodded. "Don't worry, Doc. I'll keep a close eye on that edge. I'm not going over again. I just want to find out what the truth here is."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That evening when Jarrod got home he was past the time for socializing with the family and went straight to the dinner table. "We'd given up on you," Victoria said as he kissed her and took his place at the other end of the table.

"Busy day," Jarrod said.

"Did you get anywhere with that client of yours?" Nick asked.

"I did," Jarrod said and speared some steak from the platter in front of him. "My client was lucid and helpful today."

"Lucid?"

"As lucid as you are on a good day, Nick."

"Is it anything you can talk about, Jarrod?" Heath asked.

"Not really, but he did give me enough to go digging around town and around the asylum about. I did a lot of that today, and if he can't communicate tomorrow, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow, too. Pass the potatoes, Nick."

Nick did, but he eyed his brother warily. "You think he's innocent?"

"I think there may be enough to create reasonable doubt. I'll go talk to him tomorrow about some of the things I found out today, and hopefully he'll be sensible enough to help me sort out what I found."

"I'll be awfully glad when you're finished with this case," Audra said.

"Why?" Jarrod asked, and it came across as sharp to everyone else at the table.

Audra fumbled a little and finally said, "Because the thought of you in that place day in and day out frightens me."

"Why?" Jarrod asked again, more quietly this time.

"Because it's a scary place," Audra said. "I've been by there and I've heard them - well, I've heard them and it frightens me. Especially since Mother - " She glanced at her mother but let the rest of her thoughts go, not wanting to remind Victoria of what had happened to her more than she already had.

"We're just a little concerned that it's not good to surround yourself with people in the shape those inmates are in," Heath tried.

"I'm well protected," Jarrod said. "No need to worry about me."

"It's not your physical health we're worried about," Nick said frankly, staring straight at his older brother.

Jarrod took a deep breath. "I won't need to go back there much anymore if tomorrow goes well, and so far, I'm fine - unless somebody wants to debate that." He looked around the table and let his eyes settle on Nick.

Nick shook his head. "No debate."

"Good," Jarrod said, "because as much as I appreciate your concern, you're all beginning to make me feel like you think I belong in there and not out here and I don't think I've given you any reason to think that."

"You're overreacting, Jarrod," Victoria said flatly, "but you're right. You haven't given us any reason to be concerned. We just don't want to become concerned."

Jarrod thought about his conversation with Dr. Merar and was glad no one here knew about it. He decided his mother was right. He was overreacting. "I'm sorry. This is a stressful case and maybe I am a little testy. I'll keep a closer eye on myself until this case is over."

Victoria said, "Good. Then let's just drop the subject and relax a bit."

XXXXXXX

Unfortunately, the next day did not go so well. Stuart was out of control again, throwing himself against the bars and screaming even louder than before. Jarrod tried to talk him into calming down, but it didn't work. The guard forced Jarrod to leave again.

Jarrod remembered Dr. Merar's warning not to spend more than another day or two trying to talk to Stuart, and he took it seriously. Not that he was afraid that spending too much time around a man that insane was going to be bad for his own senses. He had no real fear of that, but it was looking more and more like the people around him were afraid of it. He didn't want a repeat of the night before around the dinner table, but he didn't want to give up on Stuart, either.

He was convinced that there was something to the story Stuart had told him, When he had interviewed the other two attendants - Caycee and Powell - their stories sounded legitimate, but there was an honesty to Stuart's version, too. The question was whether the other attendants were lying or Stuart was, or whether Stuart had just created a false memory, like Dr. Merar suggested. How in the world he was ever going to find the truth was a dilemma that was dogging Jarrod more and more, but he had to come up with some way to do it.

He didn't leave the building but went to the superintendent's office. Jarrod wasn't that sure about the superintendents of this place in general - an earlier one had been fired for shooting a man over an argument about a previous superintendent, and another had been involved when Victoria had been thrown into this place by Judge Tyrone to keep her from testifying to a murder. The current superintendent seemed well-meaning and honest enough, but he wasn't happy when Jarrod wanted to interview Caycee and Powell the first time. Jarrod wasn't sure how it was going to go over when he asked to do it again.

The superintendent's name was Latimer, and he was available when Jarrod arrived but again, not happy to see him. "Just how long are you going to be here, Mr. Barkley?" he asked without even saying hello.

"Not long," Jarrod said and sat down. "I'd like to talk to Caycee and Powell again."

"Neither one of them is gonna be around until tomorrow."

"Then I'd like to see them tomorrow, and I'd like to know about whatever Ambrose said to you about them right before he was killed."

Jarrod could have asked that question yesterday, but decided against it, wanting to check out things with Dr. Merar first. Latimer looked a little startled at the question. He shifted in his chair and said, "It's no secret they didn't get along with Ambrose."

"Did anyone get along with him?"

Latimer hesitated, but then said, "Not really, no."

"Why not?"

"He was a disagreeable sort. What are you getting at, Mr. Barkley?"

"Trying to find out if Caycee and Powell had a particular reason to dislike Ambrose. Whether Ambrose had complained to you about them in particular."

Jarrod watched while Latimer shifted in his chair again. Now he knew there really was something to what Stuart said about Ambrose calling Caycee and Powell out to the superintendent. Jarrod wondered if Latimer was going to tell him the truth or not.

Latimer said, "Ambrose came to me complaining that Caycee and Powell had abused a couple of the inmates. Knocked them around."

Now he was hearing some truth. Jarrod straightened. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Latimer looked angry. "It doesn't have anything to do with your case."

"It certainly does. Stuart says it was Caycee and Powell who killed Ambrose."

"That's a lie!"

"And now you're telling me Caycee and Powell had a grudge against Ambrose."

"Nothing to kill the man over!"

"And what did Stuart have to kill the man over? Are you being straight with me about all this, or do you just want to get a troublesome inmate out of your hair?"

Latimer stood up. "Get out of my office."

"You'll have to tell me the truth sometime, Superintendent, either now or after you get my subpoena."

"Do whatever you want, Counselor. I'll be ready for you. Now, get out."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was very late when Jarrod wandered into the house. He expected that everyone had gone to bed, but he found his mother still up, in the living room, working on some embroidery. He knew she was up because he had been so late coming home. He felt dreadful about it.

"Mother, you ought to be asleep," he said, leaving his hat on the table in the foyer before coming into the living room.

She shook her head and put the embroidery aside as he sat down beside her and kissed her cheek. "Not before you got home. You should have been here hours ago."

Jarrod sighed. "I got tied up talking to people and sorting out some other work that's been coming my way."

Victoria put her hand atop his. "I want to have a serious talk with you. I don't want you to say anything until I've finished."

"All right," Jarrod said, uneasy about what was coming.

She looked at him but then squeezed his hand and averted her eyes. "You know how I feel about the insane asylum. You know how I feel about you spending so much time there trying to talk to your client. I know too well what that place is like and how it can make you feel insane even when you're not. Nick came to me this evening. He's even more worried about you than I am, because of what happened to you after Beth was killed and how you took your gun to him in Rimfire. I doubt that he ever told you how badly you frightened him in Rimfire."

Jarrod closed his eyes. He didn't want to hear this, not now. Not because it was news to him - it wasn't, even though Nick had never discussed his fear with him. It wasn't news to him that Nick was worried now. He'd made that pretty plain. But Jarrod kept quiet, waiting for Victoria to go on.

"I've never asked you to drop an active case before, Jarrod," Victoria said. "I've never felt it was my place, but this time, because of what happened to me, and because of what happened to you, I believe it is my place. I'm worried about what this case might do to you. I'm worried because I know what that asylum can do to a person and because I know - ." She stopped, unable to come up with the right words.

Jarrod felt terrible. He kicked himself for not realizing this was going to happen when he took the case, that she was going to remember what happened to her, but also what happened to him. But she didn't go on. Jarrod took it as a sign that he could and should speak now. "Mother, I'm sorry. I should have considered your feelings much more than I did before I took the case. But please believe me when I tell you that I am all right. Nothing is happening to me, and nothing will happen to me. I know Nick is worried, and yes, I know, there is still something in him that is afraid of me because of what I did to him in Rimfire, but I am not that man now, and I am not in danger of becoming that man again."

Victoria shook her head and looked into his eyes. "He's not afraid of you anymore. He's just worried, and that worries me."

"You're asking me to drop the case."

"Yes."

Jarrod took a deep breath. "Mother, if I could tell you the particulars of what I learned over the past couple days, I would but you know I can't without breaking my oath as my client's attorney. Please just believe me when I tell you that I learned enough to put together a credible defense for my client. He did not kill that attendant at the hospital. I can keep him from hanging and keep him in the hospital and receiving treatment, and I'm the only one who can. I can't withdraw from his case now. It would kill him."

Victoria understood, but she still looked unhappy, and uncomfortable.

Jarrod squeezed her hand. "There are also things I need to prove to you and to the family. I need to prove to you that I am all right. I really am all right, and Mother, so are you. I know how terrible it was for you when they put you in there, but you are all right now, and what happened to you then is not happening to me now. Nor is what happened to me after Beth was murdered happening to me now. You and I, we're both all right."

Victoria looked at him, and squeezed his hand in return, smiling slightly. "Having a brush with madness makes you look at everything differently."

"I know," Jarrod said, "but it doesn't make you mad. We are not mad. We're not going to be mad. Please believe that, because as much as I adore you, I have to turn you down. I will not drop the case. I can't. It would mean Leo Stuart's life. Neither one of us could live with that."

Victoria nodded. "I understand."

Jarrod stood and lifted her to standing with him. "It's late. We both need to get to bed."

He put his arm around her, and she reciprocated. They kept their arms around each other as they headed up the stairs.

Jarrod said, "Trust me, Mother. Things will look very different in only a day or two. This will all be over soon."

Once he was alone and in bed, though, Jarrod couldn't drop the subject. He couldn't get over the feeling that he was missing something in this case, something that he could do to improve the odds even more that Leo Stuart would be found innocent. He remembered telling his family that he had to find the justice in this, but when he tried to think about what that might be – how it might look, to use Audra's words – he kept running into a mental wall. Now, he was too aware of how much his mother and brother were worried about him spending so much time on this case, in the asylum. Knowing how they were worrying made it tougher to figure out what to do, and easier to think that maybe he did need to be more careful with himself. Maybe their worry wasn't totally unfounded.

It was in the middle of the night that he woke up with a start. Something had come to him, something that might both help him with finding the justice for Leo Stuart and with easing Nick's mind. He was up early in the morning, knocking on Nick's door before anyone else was moving around.

"Come in," Nick said, groggy.

Jarrod entered and saw that Nick was just rolling out of bed in the dim morning light. "Nick, I need your help," he said.

"At this hour?" Nick asked.

"I wanted to catch you before you got too involved in your day," Jarrod said, and he began to explain what he wanted.

Nick listened. What Jarrod wanted him to do made him a bit nervous. It would require being near the asylum, and he didn't like that place one bit. On the other hand, he'd be closer to his brother in case something happened that required Nick to step in. Nick heard him out, and then thought about it. "All right, Jarrod," he ended up saying. "Let me tell Heath. I hope this works like you want it to."

XXXXXXX

Jarrod knew that Caycee and Powell would be back at work, so as soon as he got to town he went to the asylum prepared to ask Superintendent Latimer to let him have some time with them. But Latimer turned him down. "They have duties they have to tend to. You can see them on their time."

"You could have said that to me yesterday," Jarrod said.

"It wasn't a problem yesterday," Latimer said. "Things have come up."

"What things?"

"Things that are none of your business."

Jarrod nearly growled in frustration. "I can have the sheriff drop by."

"You do that."

Latimer pretty much turned his back on Jarrod then, so Jarrod left to go see Stuart again. As luck would have it, he ran into Powell on the way. When Powell saw him, he looked a bit startled. "A word, Mr. Powell," Jarrod said, stopping him.

Powell tried to get around him. "I have work to do, Mr. Barkley."

"I'll just take a moment," Jarrod said, still blocking the smaller man. "I heard you and Mr. Ambrose had a bit of a row at a waterfront bar the night before Mr. Ambrose was killed."

Powell looked surprised. "Who told you that?"

Jarrod ignored the question. "I hear it was about Ambrose complaining to the Superintendent about the rough way you were handling some of the patients."

"I don't know where you're getting your information - "

"It came to blows, I hear."

Powell tried to get around him again, but again Jarrod blocked the way. "Just pushing. You're keeping me from my job, Mr. Barkley. The Superintendent will throw you out for that."

Jarrod moved aside, but as he did, he said, "I'll subpoena both you and Caycee before the day is out. We have a lot to talk about."

Jarrod knew there was a chance that his threat might send both Caycee and Powell packing if they had something to worry about. In fact, he was counting on it. He let Powell go on.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jarrod went to the block where Stuart was being kept and soon was sitting down in his usual chair opposite Stuart's cell. Stuart had pressed himself into the corner again, staring again. Jarrod decided to talk to him. "Leo, I've gotten together some information that I think will help your case quite a bit. I want you to know that I do believe you. You did not kill Ambrose."

Stuart's eyes lightened a bit.

"I'm going to do everything I can to get you found not guilty, so you can stay here back in a regular room and be treated," Jarrod said, "but I need your help."

Stuart's eyes lightened even more.

"I have to be able to convince a judge that you are capable of understanding the charge against you and the possible consequences," Jarrod said.

"I understand," Stuart said.

Jarrod felt his heart lift. "You also have to understand that I can't guarantee I can get you off. There is always a chance that a jury won't believe us. If that happens, you still run the risk that you will hang."

Stuart seemed to chew on that for a long moment before he said, "What else is there to do?"

"If I ask a judge to declare you incompetent to stand trial, or if he makes such a finding himself, I honestly don't know what would become of you. They may keep you here in this cell for the rest of your life."

Stuart looked like Jarrod had punched him.

Jarrod understood that it was lucid Leo Stuart who was back today. "The way I see it, here are the choices. I can have you declared incompetent or declared innocent by reason of insanity, in which case, like I said, I honestly don't know what a judge would do with you. Or I can go ahead and let them try you. If you're found not guilty, you'd go back to a regular room and receive regular treatment. If you're found guilty, you'd probably hang, unless I could talk them out of it."

Stuart looked stricken again, but he was thinking.

Jarrod asked, "Do you understand everything I've just explained to you? Do you understand what could happen?"

Stuart looked like he was going to cry. Then he looked like he was closing up again.

Jarrod felt stricken himself now, almost distraught at the turmoil that must have been going on inside this young man. Lucid, understanding the terrible choices and potential dreadful consequences, but at the same time shutting down, unable to deal with it. "Talk to me, Leo," Jarrod said. "Just tell me what you're thinking."

Stuart slowly shook his head. "I don't want to die. I don't want to stay in this cell forever, either. I want everything to go back to the way it was." He started to cry.

Jarrod had thought he might run over the information he had discovered with Stuart, but he knew that he couldn't do that now. Everything he had already said was just too much for the boy to handle. Jarrod stood up. "Leo, "I'm going to go talk to the prosecutor now. I'm going to tell him what I've found out about your case. I'm going to see what else we might do. Do you understand me?"

Stuart just cried.

"I'll be back after I talk to the prosecutor," Jarrod said.

Stuart just cried.

Jarrod went out, feeling like he wanted to cry himself. Stuart was an incredible mix of lucidity and insanity, of boy and man, of hope and despair. Jarrod could hardly bear how much he wanted to help him, how much he wanted to get everything back the way it was for him. And he was terrified that despite all his optimism over the evidence he'd uncovered, he would not be able to find the way to do it.

When he left the building, he stopped at a place further along the street. He was wiping his own eyes in a hurry because he didn't want to be seen as hurt as he was about this, especially not by the man who was waiting there for him. But Nick saw it anyway, and it scared him. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Jarrod said. "I just saw Powell, and I let him know I thought I had him and Caycee cold on this."

"How'd he take it? Is he gonna run like you thought?"

"I hope so. Did you talk to Fred?"

"Yeah. The sheriff is ready for me to come get him in a hurry if Powell or Caycee take off."

"You're sure you remember what they look like?"

Jarrod had described them to Nick and the sheriff. Nick nodded. "I hope you were right about them taking off."

Jarrod sighed. "So do I. I'm gonna need a confession or what amounts to one to get them on the hook and get Leo Stuart off of it."

Nick still didn't like the look on Jarrod's face. "What's got you riled? You worried the fish won't bite?"

Jarrod shook his head. "Just talking to Stuart. The kid's lucid today and scared, and if this doesn't work, I don't know what's going to become of him. So I guess I am worried the fish won't bite. Keep a close watch, Nick. And thanks for helping me out. I know you'd rather I just drop the case."

"You're right," Nick said, but then he grinned. "But I know my big brother once he gets his stubborn Jarrod Barkley mind made up. I can't leave you out here twisting in the wind by yourself."

Jarrod gave his brother a smile and a clap on the arm. "I'll be at Sam Davison's office. I'll check back here with you in a little while if I don't hear from you first."

Jarrod headed for the courthouse. Sam Davison was the prosecutor on this case. He would find Davison, tell him what he had found out investigating the case, and then reason with him and beg him to drop the charges. He knew there was still a risk to that. If Stuart were returned to his regular room with Ambrose's murder still going unpunished he could end up being abused by the staff anyway. Even if he were found not guilty after a trial, there was still that risk.

As he walked to the courthouse, he thought hard about what he could do and how to do it, and he was alarmed to find himself on the brink of tears again, just trying to come up with some way to help Stuart. Losing control like that was frightening him. He was afraid that maybe his family was right, that he was getting too close and it was becoming too dangerous for him. But he shook the feeling off. It wouldn't help, and as he began to form a plan of how to talk to Davison to get something for Stuart, he began to regain confidence and control. When he got to Davison's office, he had a plan.

"I'm about to tip my hand, Sam," Jarrod said as Sam Davison invited him to sit down in front of his desk, and he sat. "I know that's unorthodox but this is an unorthodox case."

"I'll grant you that," Davison said and waited for whatever Jarrod was going to say.

"Leo Stuart denies he killed Ambrose. Nothing unorthodox about that. But he remembers the two attendants named Caycee and Powell doing the killing. He says it was because Ambrose told the Superintendent that they had been abusing other patients. I've checked it out. It's true. Ambrose called them out. Superintendent Latimer has told me that and I have someone who will testify that the three of them fought over that in a waterfront bar."

Davison scowled. "That doesn't mean they killed Ambrose. If all you have to prove that is your client's testimony, it's not enough."

"I'm getting subpoenas to depose Caycee and Powell today. I'll want you there at the depositions."

Now Davison looked surprised. "Of course, but why subpoena them? Why not just question them?"

"They won't talk otherwise, and I have a suspicion something else will happen before I can depose them."

"Like what?"

"Either Powell or Caycee or both will run."

Davison raised an eyebrow. "That won't prove anything if they do."

"It will help me create reasonable doubt. That's all I need to do. And I'll have the Superintendent on the stand, too. He won't lie about the bad blood between Ambrose and the other two. I've got a good case for reasonable doubt, Sam, especially if Powell or Caycee run."

Davison leaned back in his chair. "If you're asking me to dismiss the case, I won't do that."

"I'm not asking that - yet."

"What are you asking? You wouldn't be giving me all this if you didn't want something in return."

"I want a deal. If we go to trial and Stuart is found not guilty, I want your recommendation he be returned to a regular room and get regular treatment. I know he's not well enough to be released. Even he's not asking that."

"He's not asking it? Is he fit to ask anything?"

"He has lucid spells. Now and then, he's as sensible as anyone."

Now Davison rolled his eyes. "I find that really hard to believe."

"If we go to trial, you may see it yourself," Jarrod said. "And there's something else I want. If he's found guilty, I want leniency. I don't want to see him hang."

Davison was beginning to get irritated. "Jarrod, if he's found guilty, what else are we going to do with him? He can't go back to a regular room."

"No but he can stay in the secure lock-up, and what I want you to agree to is proper treatment and a full evaluation once a year to see if he can be returned to a regular room, or even released."

Davison shook his head. "Jarrod, you're wishing on stars."

"Sam, what am I asking you to give up? Just a hanging if he's found guilty. Or, if you'd rather, let me plead him not guilty by reason of insanity, keep him in secure lock-up and evaluate once a year."

Davison kept shaking his head. "You're asking for something the community is not gonna let me agree to."

"Then no plea, let's go to trial. Innocent - he's back into a regular room with treatment. Guilty - he's in secure lock-up with treatment and yearly evaluation. Sam, what do you have to lose?"

"My job, and my credibility in the community. Jarrod, I can't agree to all that, but I will agree to something. Innocent - all right, he's back in a room. But guilty - the best I'll do is let you make your recommendation to the judge and the jury, and I won't agree or disagree. I'll leave it up to them and I'll tell them so. Sorry, but that's the best I can do. If you want to talk about insanity or him being incompetent to stand trial, I'll think things over. But I can't do any more than that."

Jarrod leveled his gaze and played his trump card. "What if either Powell or Caycee makes a run for it? If they do, my case gets a lot stronger."

"If either of them confesses they did it, yeah I'd consider dropping the charges, but short of that, no deal."

Jarrod nodded and stood up. "All right. If they run, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, I'm going for subpoenas, and we'll talk about depositions when I get them."

Davison nodded and extended his hand. "All right. I'll see you later today one way or another, I expect."

Jarrod nodded. "I expect it too."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was more than half an hour later Jarrod met Nick, still at his post watching the asylum. Nick jumped when Jarrod stepped up beside him, asking, "Anything yet?"

"Geez, Jarrod, do you have to sneak up on me like that? You know this place gives me the willies as it is."

"Sorry," Jarrod said.

Nick sighed his momentary panic away. "Nobody's gone in or out since you left. Did you get anywhere with Davison?"

"A little. I got the subpoenas on Caycee and Powell and made times for their depositions with Davison. I'm gonna go serve them now."

"That might shake somebody loose."

"I hope so. I'm gonna see my client after that. If you're not here when I come out I'll look for you at the sheriff's office."

"All right," Nick said.

Jarrod headed for the front door of the asylum and was allowed entry by the guard, who by now knew him well, but when he asked where he might find Caycee and Powell, he got a surprised and worried look. "What do you want them for?" the guard asked.

"Business," Jarrod said.

The guard looked very wary. "I'll have to talk to Superintendent Latimer."

Jarrod just nodded. "By all means. May I go talk to my client while you do?"

The guard still hesitated, but said, "All right, but don't leave there until someone escorts you out."

Jarrod nodded, and the guard let him in.

There was something about the place today that was even more eerie than usual, and it took a moment for Jarrod to figure out why. Then he realized it was quieter than normal. There were occasional moans and crying out, but not as much as there had been in the past. Jarrod wondered what was going on, and he wondered if the relative calm would carry over to his client.

It didn't. When the guard frisked him and let him in, Stuart immediately charged the bars, screaming, "I'm not staying here! Let me out!"

"Leo, calm down - " Jarrod tried but Stuart kept yelling.

Jarrod sat down in his chair, wondering how to handle the situation. He decided to sit there and close his eyes while his client railed, but he quickly found that listening to the chaos with his eyes closed was causing his own fear to rise up. It was just too unnerving to take in the dark, and it wasn't helping Stuart calm down.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the impulse came to leap to his feet and charge the bars himself, and Jarrod followed it. He seized the bars, stared hard at Stuart and yelled, "Sit down! Sit down now!"

Stuart growled like an animal into his lawyer's face, but Jarrod did not back off. The guard was coming in after them, but just then, Stuart quieted down and huddled into his corner on his cot, silent and staring. The guard breathed an audible sigh of relief and went out again.

Jarrod stayed at the bars, shaking and wondering if he was losing his mind too, approaching a madman this way, but he calmed as quickly as Stuart did. "Leo," he said quietly. "I talked to the prosecutor. If we go to trial and you are found guilty, he will not oppose us asking that you not be hanged."

Stuart's gaze shifted to his lawyer.

Jarrod said, "We will ask that you be allowed to remain here and be evaluated once a year, if you are found guilty, to see if you can be returned to a regular room or even released."

Stuart got up, calm. "Released?"

"Maybe, if you get well," Jarrod said.

Stuart seemed to be thinking it over. "But I didn't kill Ambrose. I really didn't."

"I believe you. If you are found not guilty, you'll be returned to a regular room and treated like any other patient."

"I won't hang, no matter what." It was a statement, not a question.

"There's a very good chance," Jarrod said.

Stuart smiled, a relieved smile. Jarrod couldn't believe it. It was beautiful.

It was wrecked when Jarrod left to find Superintendent Latimer coming toward the block Jarrod was leaving. Latimer did not look like he was in the mood to let Jarrod see Caycee and Powell so he could serve the subpoenas, but Jarrod took the offensive. He removed the subpoenas from his inner jacket pocket, held them up for the Superintendent to see, and as they stopped to face each other, Jarrod simply said, "Either I serve these or the sheriff comes here and serves them."

"You've disrupted things around here long enough, Barkley," Latimer said. "You're leaving now, or I'll have you thrown out."

Jarrod found his fists clenching involuntarily. "Latimer, you try that, and I'll have you removed from your job by the end of the day."

Latimer stepped closer. "I have friends, too, Barkley."

Jarrod did not move. "Is that a threat?"

"Take it for whatever you want to take it, but you're leaving now."

"Not until I serve Caycee and Powell, and when I want to see my client, I'll see him."

The guard standing outside the block Stuart was kept in quietly, nervously, cleared his throat. The Superintendent threw an angry glare his way.

Jarrod took advantage of the sudden break in the tension. "I'll serve Caycee and Powell right now and be on my way. I'm deposing them tomorrow in my office at ten. You best not interfere, Mr. Latimer."

Latimer looked back at the lawyer, at the solid determination in his eyes, at the subpoenas in his fisted hand. "Becker," Latimer said to the guard, "go find Caycee and Powell and bring them here. Mr. Barkley will wait here and won't need a guard and he'll leave quietly after he sees them - I'm sure."

The Superintendent turned and left, the guard right behind him. Jarrod stared after them, his anger beginning to ease but he knew it would not dissipate completely until he had served Caycee and Powell and was well away from here.

XXXXXXX

Nick saw Jarrod come out of the asylum and head his way, and there was something about his demeanor he didn't like. His brother was frowning, and his fists were clenched, as if he had just hit someone. He didn't relax when he got near Nick either. "Everything all right?" Nick asked.

Jarrod didn't answer at first, nor did he unclench those fists.

Nick didn't like it. "Hey - what happened in there?"

Jarrod blinked and took a deep breath, as if he were coming out of an ugly trance. "Bad day, that's all. I nearly had to grab my client through the bars to get him to calm down, and then I nearly came to blows with the Superintendent over the subpoenas. My nerves got the best of me, but Latimer finally let me serve Caycee and Powell." Jarrod took another deep breath. "So, keep a close watch. Something might be happening in the next hour or so."

"Where will you be?"

"My office. I gotta get away from this place for a while before I belt somebody."

"Hey - " Nick said again and grabbed Jarrod by the arm as he started to leave.

Jarrod's eyes flashed black.

Nick let him go. "I'm just a little worried about you, Pappy, that's all."

Jarrod nodded. "I know. And maybe today you're right to be, but I'll be all right as soon as I get away from here."

Jarrod headed off toward his office, and Nick watched him go. Nick could see his shoulders relax a bit with every step. He wondered exactly how close his older brother's encounter with Latimer came to blows. "We gotta get this thing over with and get you away from here," Nick breathed to himself, "and me too."

Then he turned to watch the asylum again.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Nick was relaxing a bit, leaning against the wall of the building he was hiding next to when, about fifteen minutes later, he saw a man come out of the asylum. Nick recognized him as Caycee, and Powell was not far behind him. They were not together, though. Nick kept watching, saw Powell heading for the train station and Caycee heading for the waterfront. They were splitting up, and they were running.

Nick stayed with Powell, poking his head into the sheriff's office as he passed. "Fred, they're running, both of them, Caycee to the waterfront, Powell to the train station."

"Did Jarrod serve them?" the sheriff asked.

Nick nodded. "Yeah."

"You're deputized," the sheriff said, getting up and following Nick out to the street. "You stay with Powell. If he buys a ticket, arrest him and bring him back here. I'll see what Caycee's up to."

"Right," Nick said and went after Powell. By the time he caught up with him, Powell was at the depot window, and Nick saw him buy a ticket.

Nick grinned from ear to ear as Powell turned and found Nick standing behind him. Powell did not know Nick, so he gave him a polite nod and tried to move away.

"Wait a second, Powell," Nick said.

Powell stopped. "What for? Who are you?"

"Deputy who's arresting you."

Powell did nothing as Nick took him by the arm, because Nick was a lot taller and more muscular that he was. As Nick led him off, Powell asked, "What's the charge? I haven't done anything except buy a train ticket."

"Running out on a subpoena," Nick said and walked him toward the jail.

Nick had scarcely gotten Powell to the jail and into a cell when Sheriff Madden came in with Caycee. "He was buying a ticket on the boat to French Camp," Sheriff Madden said as he put Caycee into an adjoining cell. Then, he and Nick stood looking at them, and the sheriff said, "Who wants to confess first?"

Caycee and Powell did not look at each other, and they did not answer.

"Fine," the sheriff said. "Nick, go tell your brother we have these two and I'm charging them with evading a subpoena. Tell Sam Davison the same thing and I'm gonna talk to them about the Ambrose murder. We'll see which one avoids the rope and which one doesn't."

"Wait a minute! What rope?" Caycee blurted first.

"You're not hanging any murder on me!" Powell said, and the two of them talked over each other, complaining and protesting and doing everything but confessing to anything.

Sheriff Madden banged on the bars. "Shut up!"

Caycee and Powell quieted down.

"Get comfortable, gentlemen," the sheriff said, and he and Nick went out of the cell block.

Once in the office, the cell black door closed behind them, Sheriff Madden said, "Go talk to your brother and Sam - but take your time passing under the window in the alley. See what you can catch them saying to each other. And -"

Nick had started to go out, and stopped.

"Keep your temper to yourself," the sheriff said.

Nick smiled. "Not a problem, Fred. You want Jarrod back here?"

"Not yet. Send Sam, though. I want to see which one of these characters might want to talk to him once he's here."

XXXXXX

Nick came into Jarrod's office and found him reading something but stretching his neck at the same time. He looked tired, annoyed, bordering on angry again. Nick had no idea why this time and chose not to ask. He just said, "Want some good news?"

Jarrod looked up, looking sullen at first but then at the words "good news" he perked up. "They tried to run for it."

Nick nodded with a grin. "And now they're both in Fred's jail."

Jarrod jumped up, ready to go.

Nick held a hand up. "Sit tight for a while. Fred wants me to bring Sam Davison over first and have us talk about a couple things I heard while I was passing by the jailhouse window."

"What things?" Jarrod asked.

"Sorry, no confessions, but those boys are mighty nervous about something. They were talking about sticking to their story."

Jarrod's excitement disappeared, and he sat down. "I'd like a confession better."

"Don't give up," Nick said. "I got a feeling one of them is gonna turn before long."

"From your mouth to God's ear," Jarrod said. "If either one of them does, tell Fred and Sam I want to be the one to tell Superintendent Latimer AND my client."

"Will do," Nick said and headed out the door to go see Davison.

Jarrod let out a big sigh and lowered his forehead to his desk. Finally, he let himself admit that this whole thing was getting to him. Being in that asylum had grated on his nerves more and more every day, and blowing up with Latimer about the subpoenas had left him embarrassed with himself. His family was right. Just being around his volatile client and the shrieking inmates of the asylum was harder on him than he thought.

Jarrod sat up straight, then leaned back to look at the ceiling. Maybe this would be over today. Maybe today, he could start living a life without so much insanity. Maybe today, he could tell Leo Stuart that he had hope for a future of some sort again. If he could give that to Stuart, this whole thing will have been worth it.

XXXXXXXX

Jarrod had actually fallen asleep in his chair when Nick came back. Nick gave himself a smile to hear the counselor snoring away, but he knew he'd lose the smile when he woke Jarrod up and told him what had happened at the jail.

"Wake up, Jarrod," Nick said, closing the door.

Jarrod jerked awake. "Oh, sorry," he mumbled and sat up. "I guess I was more tired than I thought. What happened?"

"Not what you wanted," Nick said, sitting down in front of the desk. "When I left, Fred and Davison were still questioning Caycee and Powell."

"No confessions yet," Jarrod said.

Nick shook his head. "They might still get something, but I doubt it. I think you're gonna have to unhinge somebody during his deposition tomorrow."

Jarrod nodded, thinking. "It wouldn't be the first time I had to do something like that. You can go on home now if you want, Nick. Thanks for your help."

Nick stood up and began to leave. "My pleasure, but don't you be too far behind me. You look like you could use a lot more rest than just a snooze behind that desk."

Jarrod smiled. "I know you've been worried about me, but you don't need to be."

"Yet," Nick said, pausing at the door. "I know you're a stalwart kind of guy – "

"Stalwart?" Jarrod said, amazed Nick was using the word.

"I read too," Nick protested. "Just don't drive yourself too hard. Those depositions are gonna be tough. Cut it short here today and come on home soon."

Jarrod nodded. "All right, Nick. I'll try not to worry you anymore."

Nick harrumphed as he went out the door.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod spent only one more hour in the office, but he took a lot of work home to finalize his questions for the depositions the next day. Victoria could tell as soon as he came in the door that he was carrying a full briefcase. She met him in the foyer and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You look tired," she said.

Jarrod nodded and put his hat and briefcase down. "A stressful day, and I have to get ready for depositions tomorrow, but I'll enjoy a little time with my dear mother first. Where is everybody?"

"Nick and Heath are still out on the range. Audra is taking a bath – she was out riding all day."

Jarrod looked at the clock hear the stairs. "I don't even know what time it is."

"Just after four," Victoria said. She put her arm around him and led him into the parlor.

Once there, Jarrod poured himself a scotch and then sat down in his "thinking chair," while Victoria sat on the settee and put aside the book she'd been reading. Jarrod gave her a weary smile. "I think we're getting somewhere, Mother," he said, knowing from the look on her face that she was still worried about that. "The two attendants who I think really did the killing tried to run."

"Nick told me," Victoria said. "I'm glad you had him help you today. It's eased his mind, and mine."

Jarrod smiled. "I told you I was just fine."

"A mother tends to worry about tomorrow as well as today," Victoria said.

"I'll grant you something, Mother," Jarrod said. "Going into the asylum day after day is becoming more trying, but if I can get somewhere with these depositions tomorrow, it will be worth the effort. And as of right now, I am tired, but still just fine, so if you're going to worry, do it about tomorrow, not today."

Victoria smiled. "All right. If you will save the work you brought home until after dinner."

"You have a deal," Jarrod said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Promptly at ten the next morning, Sheriff Madden brought Caycee to Jarrod's office for his deposition. Sam Davison and a court reporter were there, along with Jarrod, all seated around a small table in Jarrod's inner office. There was one vacant chair, and Jarrod ushered Caycee to it. "Sit down, Mr. Caycee."

Caycee sat as Sheriff Madden left. Caycee looked distinctly uncomfortable, never having done one of these before. Jarrod wasn't interested in making him any more comfortable.

Jarrod asked the preliminary questions, and Caycee answered - name and address, what job and how long, what the duties were. Jarrod had Caycee describe his duties in great detail, and then began moving into his real questions.

"Mr. Caycee, do your duties include bathing any of the patients?"

"Yes."

"How often do you do that?"

"Not that often."

"Other attendants usually do that?"

"Usually."

"Do you like bathing the patients?"

"No, not much. They get ornery."

"Does Stuart get ornery?"

"Yeah."

"How often have you bathed Stuart or helped someone bathe him?"

"Never, really, but I've heard him yelling in the bathroom."

"What about the day Mr. Ambrose was killed? Do your duties that day require you to bathe any of the patients?"

"No, not that day."

"Not Stuart?"

Caycee hesitated a moment and then said, "No, not directly."

"You weren't required to help Ambrose with Stuart that day?"

"No, not required."

"Was Stuart strangling Ambrose when you first went in?"

"No."

"How long were you in there when Stuart started strangling Ambrose?"

"A minute, maybe two."

Jarrod did not stick to a line of questioning at any time, but kept moving around on subjects he wanted to ask about. He switched to asking about the fight in the bar the night before.

"Ambrose started the fight," Caycee said.

"Now, that's interesting," Jarrod said. "I have a couple witnesses who said you and Powell came in and started the argument."

"Ambrose threw the first punch."

"Who did he hit?"

"Who?"

"When he threw the first punch, who did he hit?"

"Me."

"Then who threw the next punch?"

"Powell did."

Then Jarrod switched to asking about Superintendent Latimer and what he said to Caycee about Ambrose's accusations. Then Jarrod went back to the process of bathing the patients. He got Caycee to reiterate that he was not bathing patients the day Ambrose was killed.

"But you went to the bath anyway," Jarrod said.

"Me and Powell wanted to talk to Ambrose," Caycee said.

"Did you commonly do that? Talk about disputes with other attendants in front of the patients."

"Well, no, but Stuart is different."

"How so?"

"He's always way out of it. He doesn't know what you're saying."

"Always way out of it? Do you mean quiet, or out of control? What?"

"Out of control mostly."

"Was he out of control when Ambrose was killed?"

"Hell, yes. A madman. Strangled Ambrose before we could stop him."

"Why Ambrose?"

"What?"

"Why Ambrose? Why not you or Powell?"

"Hell, I don't know. You can figure out what Stuart is gonna do. He's always out of control."

"Always?"

"Always."

"You've never seen him lucid?"

"Never."

Jarrod switched to asking about Caycee's encounters with Stuart, how many times, how often, what did he do with Stuart, did he ever bathe him. Jarrod just kept going on, changing topics he was asking about, trying to keep Caycee tied up in knots and keep the pressure on him. Jarrod wanted as many mistakes as he could get, as many details as he could get so he could ask Powell the same things and hopefully get different answers.

Finally, after a flurry of quick questions and answers, Jarrod asked, "Did Ambrose fight back?"

"What?"

"When Stuart was strangling him, did he fight back? Did he try to hit Stuart?"

"Well, yeah, a bit."

"Did he yell to you for help?"

Caycee hesitated.

"It's a simple question," Jarrod said. "Did he yell to you for help?"

"Yeah, sort of, but Stuart had him by the throat and it was tough to hear what he said."

"Did you try to help Ambrose whether he asked for it or not?"

Caycee hesitated again.

Jarrod stayed calm. "Did you try to keep Stuart from killing Ambrose? Did you try to pull him away? Did you just stand there and watch? What?"

"Well - Stuart was crazy. We were scared."

"So, you just stood there and watched."

Caycee hesitated and finally said, "We were too scared to do anything else."

"You didn't go for help?"

"Well, no."

"Why did you go into the bathing room the day Ambrose was killed?"

"Why?"

"Yes, why."

"Well, to help Ambrose bathe Stuart. He was tough to handle."

"Who went in first, you or Powell?"

"I really don't remember."

"Try. Was Powell in front of you or in back of you when you went in?"

"Um - he went in first."

Davison looked up from his notes. Caycee had already said he and Powell did not have any duties that day that required them to bathe any of the patients, and that he had never bathed Stuart. Jarrod gave Davison a look. Caycee had tripped up.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jarrod asked another hour's worth of questions before he finished and let Davison question Caycee, but since Caycee's credibility as a witness for the prosecution was slipping, Davison declined. Jarrod sent his secretary to get Sheriff Madden to bring Powell over and collect Caycee. Everyone sat in silence until the Sheriff appeared with Powell.

The sheriff brought Powell straight in and took Caycee straight out. They had no time to talk to one another. After Powell sat down, Jarrod asked him the standard preliminary questions and then jumped right in.

"Mr. Powell, have you ever bathed any patients at the asylum?"

"Sometimes," Powell said.

"Have you ever bathed Leo Stuart?"

"No."

"Never?"

Powell hesitated. "I maybe helped once."

"Did you bathe any patients on the day Mr. Ambrose was killed?"

"No."

"Did you help with bathing any?"

"No. I wasn't asked to."

"Then why did you go into the bath while Ambrose was bathing Stuart?"

Powell shifted nervously. "Just - " he said and stopped.

"Simple question, Mr. Powell. Why did you go into the bath if you weren't asked to help with Mr. Stuart?"

"We thought we heard yelling."

"Who was yelling?"

"Don't know which one."

"Who went in first, you or Mr. Caycee?"

"He did."

"Was Stuart strangling Ambrose when you first saw them?"

Powell hesitated again. "It was close. They were together. I don't remember if Stuart was actually strangling Ambrose or if it was a couple seconds later."

Jarrod moved on to talk about the fight at the saloon and subjects he had talked to Caycee about. As things went on with Powell, the particulars of almost every subject were at odds with what Caycee said. By the time Jarrod finished and the sheriff left with Powell, even the court reporter was shaking his head. After he left, Jarrod turned and stared at Davison.

"Sam," Jarrod started but got no further.

"I know, I know," Davison said, "but let me ask you something. What do you think is going to happen to your client if I dismiss the charges right now, arrest Caycee and Powell, and send Stuart back to the regular asylum? People are going to say I'm taking the word of a madman over two sane attendants, and I don't know what's gonna happen to your man in there."

"Nothing if you explain it all to Latimer and let him know you'll be watching," Jarrod said. "And I'll be watching."

"And how long can we keep that up?"

"I'll keep it up, and you'll get Caycee and Powell convicted on their own words here today. You don't need to let anyone know Stuart's word had anything to do with it."

Davison scowled and finally said, "Let me think about it," and before Jarrod could pressure him on it, Davison left.

Jarrod stood alone in his office and grumbled. He was willing to admit Davison had a point, being concerned about Stuart's welfare if he just dropped the charges and got Caycee and Powell indicted. But Jarrod was concerned that if Davison didn't drop the charges on Stuart they would go to trial, and there was a chance Stuart could be convicted just to get a crazy man out of the way.

Jarrod thought he should go talk to his client, or at least look in on him if he was not communicative today. But what was he going to tell Stuart if he was lucid? What was he going to say to Latimer if he saw him? And now that they'd been deposed, Caycee and Powell would be turned loose to go back to work, if they didn't just take off again. If they did, with no one else to take to trial, Davison would probably still prosecute Stuart, just because he had to prosecute somebody.

And would Caycee or Powell have the nerve and be stupid enough to try to kill Stuart, the only witness against them?

Jarrod sat down and sighed, and tried to think. But all he could really seem to do was feel helpless and confused. No matter what he did, all through this crazy case, it seemed to get his client in deeper when it should have been getting him further out of trouble. In the meantime, Jarrod was becoming more frustrated, and the sense of unreality that seemed to permeate this case was beginning to roll over him, too. For a moment he thought he ought to try doing the opposite of whatever he thought he should be doing, or maybe he should go back to just sitting in front of Stuart's cell and staring blankly at the man while he stared blankly back.

Careful, Jarrod, he suddenly said to himself, or you will begin to lose it, just like your family is afraid of.

His secretary poked her head in. "Mr. Barkley, could you use some coffee?"

Jarrod came back to the real world. "No, Angie, thank you. I think I need some food and some fresh air. I'll be at Harry's for a while and then just walking around or at the asylum if anyone needs me."

And he got up, grabbed his hat and went out.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod felt a little more grounded after he got some food and had a short walk around town. Sadly, he wasn't having any better ideas about how to help his client, so his frustration level wasn't going down any. Finally, he went to the asylum to see how Stuart was today, although he no idea what he was going to say to the man if he was having one of his lucid days.

It was not an issue. When Jarrod got there, Stuart immediately threw himself at the bars, shouting obscenities, raging at Jarrod to get out and leave him alone. Jarrod only sighed, took his usual seat and closed his eyes. Stuart went on screaming, but despite his desperate mood, Stuart didn't bother Jarrod at all. Jarrod didn't even try to reason out why. He just sat with his eyes closed, until the cellblock door opened.

Jarrod looked up to see the chief physician come in. The doctor simply said, "You need to leave."

Jarrod looked over at Stuart, who was beginning to retreat into his corner again, quieting down.

"Do you need to examine my client?" Jarrod asked.

"I do," the doctor said, and left unsaid that he was going to medicate Stuart into silence.

Jarrod knew he couldn't argue, so he got up, but before he went to the door, he turned toward Stuart and said, "I'm not giving up on you, Leo. I'll be back tomorrow."

XXXXXXXX

Jarrod tried to work some more, but his mind tumbling around was keeping him from getting anything done. He had hoped Davison would be coming by to tell him he was releasing Stuart and arresting Caycee and Powell, but when three o'clock rolled around and Davison had not come, Jarrod decided to head home. When he got there, he was surprised to see Nick and Heath were already in from the range and the family had gathered for their customary pre-dinner social. He was even more surprised to see it was not the four o'clock he expected. It was five thirty.

Jarrod stood stunned in the foyer for a moment, then he checked his watch. His watch also said five thirty. He had lost an hour and a half and had no idea where it had gone. Suddenly, he was alarmed, and it showed.

Victoria noticed first. "Jarrod, what's wrong?" She asked, getting up from the settee.

"Nothing," Jarrod said, but sounded vacant. "I just thought it was earlier than it is."

Victoria sat down again as Nick poured Jarrod a scotch. Jarrod put his hat on the table in the foyer and came to the glass Nick held out to him. "How did those depositions go?" Nick asked - and was alarmed to see Jarrod's hand shaking.

"Couldn't have gone better, but I don't think that's going to make any difference to Sam Davison," Jarrod said and walked to the fireplace, where he ran the glass of scotch along his forehead that was suddenly sweating.

"Why not?" Audra asked.

"I don't know for sure," Jarrod said. "I expect it's because he doesn't want a madman for a star witness, even if the two men testifying my client did it couldn't get their stories straight."

Nick had exchanged looks with Heath when he saw Jarrod's hand shaking, and he exchanged looks with him again now. "And you don't have any idea what to do now, do you?" Nick asked.

"Not a clue," Jarrod said.

Heath suddenly got up from the chair he was sitting in, saying, "Jarrod, could I have a word with you in the library?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 _Heath suddenly got up from the chair he was sitting in, saying, "Jarrod, could I have a word with you in the library?"_ _  
_  
Surprised, not knowing what Heath would want to talk to him privately about, Jarrod just said, "Sure," and followed Heath to the library.

"I wonder what that's about," Audra said.

Nick looked firmly, worriedly, at his mother. They were both thinking that they knew, and that this time they would leave the talk to Heath.

Heath closed the door behind them when he and Jarrod entered the library, and he immediately asked, "You been drinking much today, Jarrod?"

"What?" Jarrod said. "No, just a beer at lunch. Why are you asking?"

"Because you look like a sick man and you've lost track of a piece of your day," Heath said. "Look, I don't want to add to your list of worried relatives, but Mother and Nick are both concerned about you. I thought Nick working with you yesterday had calmed him down, but when you walked in that door looking like an orphan boy at a picnic with your hand shaking like a leaf, I saw his worry level shoot right up. Are you all right?"

Jarrod sighed. "Just frustrated that I can't get Davison to drop the charges on Stuart."

"That alone wouldn't have caused you to misplace part of a day."

Now Jarrod's frustration level was rising again. "What are you getting at, Heath?"

"That maybe Mother and Nick are right to be worried about you," Heath said plainly. "Maybe you ought to consider that this case is tying you up more than you realize."

"Oh, Heath, come on, not you too," Jarrod said. "I just got to thinking too hard and lost track of time. That doesn't mean I'm losing track of myself."

"You're sweating and you're shaking. I'm the judge, Jarrod. Convince me you're all right."

Jarrod's eyes darkened with what was turning into anger, to have another one of his family think he was going off the rails because of this case. But abruptly, he tamped it down. The lost time today did worry him. Maybe they were right to be concerned about him. But - "I can't run out on the boy, Heath," Jarrod said quietly and put his drink down on the desk. "He's got nobody else looking out for him, and I'm afraid they might just hang him to get the crazy man out of the way."

"It's not gonna help if you turn yourself into a crazy man trying to help him," Heath said.

Jarrod glared at him. "I'm not a crazy man, and I'm not turning into one."

Heath nodded solemnly. "All right. You be the judge. Convince yourself of that."

They stood looking at each other. Heath saw the glare in Jarrod's eyes fade. It reminded him of that moment on the street in Rimfire when he realized he was holding a gun on his brothers and the recognition and sense came back into him.

Jarrod knew what Heath was seeing. He nodded slowly. "All right, Heath. I'll see Davison tomorrow, and if I can't talk him into dropping the charges against Stuart, I'll see if there's some kind of plea deal we can work out to keep the boy alive. One way or another, I'll get myself out of this case tomorrow - but I can't - "

Jarrod stuttered. Heath was afraid the man was going to start crying.

"I can't just let the boy die, Heath," Jarrod said, his eyes pleading for Heath to understand, even if it seemed like nobody else in the house did.

Heath understood, and he nodded, but he said, "You can't just let yourself fall apart either. Do that, and nobody wins. And Stuart still dies."

Jarrod nodded.

Heath thought he'd best leave Jarrod alone for a bit, to get himself back together before facing the family again. He gave his brother a clap on the arm, saying, "Come back in soon, or Mother will be in here."

Jarrod nodded again as Heath left.

"Is he all right?" Victoria asked as soon as Heath came back into the living room.

Heath nodded. "He will be. It was just a rough day."

Victoria and Nick exchanged looks, and at that point, Jarrod came back into the living room, his drink in his hand, saying, "Tomorrow will tell the tale, one way or another, so now let's put my day to rest and move on to a happier subject."

Audra said, "We have a new litter of puppies in the barn."

Jarrod smiled. "How many?"

"Six," Audra said. "Every one a squealer."

Jarrod thought that the last thing he needed to hear was squealing, but on the other hand the first things he needed to see were puppies. He smiled and reached a hand out to his sister. "Let's go."

XXXXXXXX

Jarrod went to Davison's office the very first thing in the morning, still not sure about how he was going to approach things but knowing that for the sake of his family and his own mental health, he was going to have to do something today. Davison was not remotely surprised to see him. He invited Jarrod to sit down, but Jarrod shook his head.

"Sam," he said, "I've got to have an answer today. You know you've got no reason to take that boy to trial except the word of two men who couldn't keep their stories straight yesterday. There's no reason to put him through another day of fear and uncertainty - and don't tell me he's too sick to feel fear or uncertainty, because I've sat with him day after day, and he is scared. He belongs back in a regular room with regular treatment, because there is a boy there who is lucid and sensible. I've seen him. He deserves a chance to get well, not get hanged. You've got to see that, Sam."

Davison listened, then looked down at his hands.

"Come on, Sam, you know I'm right," Jarrod said, leaning down on Davison's desk in front of him. "I've offered you a couple plea ideas, and I'm willing to talk some more about this, but damn it, your witnesses' testimonies just don't stand up. If the defendant were anybody but an inmate in the asylum, you'd have him cut loose already."

Davison took a deep breath.

Davison might have said something, but Jarrod kept on going. "What do I have to do to convince you? You've never been like this before. Just treat the boy like you would treat any other defendant. Cut him loose. He won't be going back out on the street. He'll be going back to a regular room at the asylum. The public is not gonna go after you for that."

Davison suddenly said, "Are you finished?"

"I don't know yet," Jarrod said. "What are you going to do?"

"I've already done it. I got Caycee and Powell back in here last night and had at them and they're both under arrest."

Jarrod felt a flutter of hope. "What charge did you arrest them on?"

"Murder," Davison said. "Powell caved. He said Caycee did the killing while he kept Stuart aside. Turns out Stuart tried to save Ambrose, not kill him."

Jarrod couldn't believe it. This had all happened so fast it made him stop cold while it tried to dig its way into his frozen mind. Finally it did. Jarrod wanted to kiss Davison, he was so happy. "So you're dropping the charges against Stuart."

"Already done, this morning. Stuart will be back in a regular room any time now, and even Superintendent Latimer is all right with it."

Jarrod slumped into a chair in front of Davison's desk, breathing hard but just about ready to jump back up and cheer. "What made Powell cave?" He asked.

"I told him I was gonna charge him with murder and he'd hang. He blurted out that all he did was hold Stuart aside and Caycee did the killing. You were right all along, Jarrod, and somewhere along the way I did believe you. I just needed more against Caycee and Powell than I had. Your depositions knocked everything loose."

"Thank you, Sam," Jarrod said. "The boy may not be able to tell us, but he will be relieved, and maybe he'll even get a chance to get some kind of normalcy in his life."

"I don't know about that, but maybe you'll be able to get some kind of normalcy in yours. You've spent way too much time in that asylum, Jarrod. I was afraid your brother was going to come after me."

Jarrod looked a little surprised. He didn't know Nick had talked to Davison about this.

"Yeah, when Nick was in town the other day and hauled me off to the sheriff's office, he told me I was being more stubborn than you were, and that worried me. To be more stubborn than a Barkley is a scary proposition."

Jarrod stood up. "I need to go spend a little more time in that asylum. Thank you, Sam." He reached out a hand and Davison shook it.

When Jarrod got back to the asylum, they were actually in the process of moving Stuart to his old regular room. He found the boy in the care of two attendants and Superintendent Latimer, in the hall near his room. Latimer saw Jarrod and told the attendants to hold up.

Stuart looked up at his attorney, and Jarrod locked gazes with him. "Do you understand what's happening, Leo?" Jarrod asked.

Stuart nodded. "I'm not gonna hang."

"The charges have been dropped," Jarrod said. "The prosecutor agrees, you didn't kill Mr. Ambrose."

Stuart actually smiled.

Latimer looked a little startled. "All right, Leo. Let's put this all behind us and get you settled back into your room."

Stuart abruptly held his hand out to Jarrod. "Thank you, Mr. Barkley."

Jarrod shook his hand. "You're welcome, Mr. Stuart," Jarrod said.

XXXXXXX

Victoria was heading for the kitchen from the stairs when the front door opened and Jarrod came in. Startled at the early hour he was home, and afraid of what it might mean, she blurted, "Jarrod, what - "

Before she could get anything else out, he had plopped his hat on the table in the foyer and was grabbing her up into his arms. He swung her around, saying, "Your worries are over, Lovely Lady! The Stuart case is over, Davison has dropped the charges and my client is back in his regular room and under regular treatment!"

"Oh, Jarrod," Victoria said in genuine relief as her son put her down, laughing. "I can't tell you how happy that makes me!"

Jarrod kissed her. "You don't have to tell me. I know."

"Whatever made Sam change his mind?"

"Nick telling him he was being more stubborn than I was. And my brilliant depositions, and Davison got a confession out of one of the attendants," Jarrod said.

"So it's done now," Victoria said. "You won't be going back to the asylum."

"I won't be going back," Jarrod said, "except to just check in on Stuart once in a while. I actually have hopes for him, Mother. He might actually get well one of these days. At least, I hope so." He took her by the hand and led her to the settee in the parlor. "I know how worried you were about me, but it's all done now and I'm as fit as a fiddle. How about you?"

"Much better now that I know you won't be spending so much time in that place," Victoria said.

Jarrod squeezed her hand. "Forgive me for not thinking more of your feelings before I even took the case."

Victoria shook her head. "You're a lawyer. You should take the cases you think are right, and obviously, you were right to take this one. A lesser man would have given up or not taken the case at all. You are not that man."

"I'm a sucker for the man who can't defend himself, I guess. Thank you for sticking with me."

"I wasn't very good at that, I'm afraid."

"No, you were perfect. Reminding me what kind of place I was spending my time in helped keep me on an even keel. You and Nick were right to worry about me. But it's over now. Everything is as it should be."

"You should thank Nick a little bit, too."

"I know, and I will. In fact, I think I'll thank him by changing my clothes and going out to help him set those bear traps he's been grumbling about."

Jarrod got up, kissed his mother, and dashed off up the stairs. Victoria was left at the settee, smiling, happy to see her son with a kick in his step again. And proud of him for not giving up when everyone was telling him he should.

"Including me," Victoria said to herself with a sigh, and then with a little laugh at herself, she got up and headed for the kitchen.

The End


End file.
